Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Renee's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
11:04 am	I love my new job. I was having a really bad morning. The Starbucks is far away and doesn't have a drive thru. Dayton has a million cops who actually sit and clock people, and I almost got ANOTHER ticket. So I was thinking to myself how much I hate this stupid town, but then I cam to work where I am in charge of revamping a majority of our programs and half of the shelter system for Dayton. So while I may always be a Columbus girl at heart, this awesome job (among other things) makes it worth living here. (Comment on this)
Monday, March 3rd, 2008
10:30 pm	I feel kind of like I should post something about my life every 6 months, so here we go. New house, fun, shopping, paperwork, daytonish, new job, perfect son, Washington DC, Malaysia, Cambodia, awesome in-laws, awesome husband, move, paint, furniture delivery X 10, parties! Done. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
9:44 pm	I return to the world of LJ... but only for a sad announcement. I was reading my Humanities Alumni Bulletin and I came across an article. Sebastian D.G. Knowles has been promoted to associate dean of the College of Humanities. While I'm sure this is great for his career, it means that he will no longer be teaching. There will be no more reading the English bulletin and fantasizing about somehow auditing a class with him. What is even more depressing is the thought that he will no longer be teaching other bright eyed young college students eager to learn. There will be no walks around campus while acting out The Waste Land, or lectures so full of spirit and British accent that you just want to cry. I thought about writing him some sort of congratulations/condolences note, but I figured he'd just think I was a stalker. (Comment on this)
Friday, October 26th, 2007
9:23 pm	I think I have a cavity...I'm pretty sure this is extremely unfair in the grand scheme of things. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007
11:49 am	Harry Potter was extremely disappointing. What the hell is the point of making the movie at all if you're only going to give each major event exactly 45 seconds of screen time? I realize they couldn't put it all in, but it was only 2 hours and 30 minutes...I'm sure non fans could have handled at least 3 hours, maybe 3:15. I can't believe I stayed up till 2:30 to see it. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 11th, 2007
11:52 pm	1. Where is your cell phone? on the charger where I often forget to put it 2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend? Don't tell Sandy about him/her! 3. Your hair? wet from recent shower 4. Your grandma? getting a little loopy but still a role model for me 5. Your father? still my bestest friend in the whole world 6. Your favorite item? One of my various knick knacks probably 7. Your dream last night? lol, not for LJ 8. Your favorite drink? ice tea 9. Your dream car? doesn't matter, I'm just going to run into a curb or a sign or something with it 10. The room you are in? my living room 11. Your ex? which one? 12. Your fear? Alex getting hurt 13. What do you want to be in 10 years? happy 14. Who did you hang out with last night? I copied Erin's answers and realized even though it's a different night in question, the answer is still the same. Bre, Erin, Krista and Josh. :) 15. What you're not? old 16. Muffin? No thanks, I'd rather eat cake or a brownie 17: One of your wish list items? a new couch - one that doesn't have buried treasure 18. The last thing you did? took a shower 19. What are you wearing? 6 layers to stay warm 20. Your favorite book? Harry Potter and Wicked 21. The last thing you ate? salmon 22. Your life? great 23. Your mood? worried 24. Your friends? durable 25. What are you thinking about right now? that I should be in bed 26. Your car? poor thing - pretty beat up 27. What are you doing at the moment? survey 28. Last summer (2006)? pretty hectic - new job, classes and a 6 month old 29. Your relationship status? chained :-P 30. What is on your TV? It is off 31. When is the last time you laughed? heartily? Friday at B & E's....B to the E....like Bob Evans, I never put that together. :-) 32. Reason you last cried? lol, probably some abused kid on TV or lost child or mean mom, anything harmful to kids in anyway makes me sob anymore. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
11:51 pm	How did I go through 2+ years of grad school and not learn anything?? I've spent the last 3 hours going over theories and methods of intervention that I've never even heard of, not to mention the info on child abuse. We didn't spend more than 30 minutes on child abuse in class and I've got about 40 pages of straight facts and definitions about it to learn for the test. Isn't a big part of getting a MSW being able to freaking pass the LISW?? I seriously feel like maybe 5 of the 24 or so classes I had to take were worth a damn. Argh. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 24th, 2007
1:11 pm	Well it's been a while. I'm not sure why I even post here anymore except that it is a good record for myself. I didn't make the classic year in review thing and I don't think I'm going to. Alex is wonderful. He is one now, walking, talking, throwing temper tantrums, and really so smart. I know every parent thinks their kid is smart and I can see why. You start off with this poor helpless little blob who eats, sleeps, and poops and then you watch them turn into a PERSON. It's quite amazing. One day he'll be an adult and I am partially in charge of what he'll be like. What an awesome responsibility. My job is going well. We have 2 totally new programs and are hiring 2 new people (if anyone needs a job, let me know). This brings me up to four different programs I'm in charge of and it's getting to be a little bit intimidating. I also signed up to start teaching classes to our entire social services department which is about 100 people. I honestly can't believe I said yes when I was asked to do it. It's one of those things that you think "oh that will be GREAT experience" and then 5 minutes later realize what you agreed to do. Sandy and I are fine. We're going on a cruise in April (courtesy of the in-laws) in the Caribbean including Jamaica, Mexico, The Cayman Islands and Georgetown. I decided on an Western cruise instead of an Eastern one (all the Dutch islands) to try and avoid the tourist stuff. I don't want to shop I want to go to the Mayan ruins and go snorkeling. We were going to take my favorite sister in law but she changed her mind. :-P I've been spending more and more time at Erin and Bre's house lately too which has been a refreshing change from my normal rotinue of watching poker or Back to the Future for the millonth time at home with Sandy at night. It's nice to have people that you have so much history with that you don't really run out of things to talk about. If we aren't talking about current stuff then we can just go into all the great times we've had. That's about all I got for now. (Comment on this)
Friday, January 19th, 2007
7:57 pm	He said "mom". I cried. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 27th, 2006
11:54 am	Does anyone know of a really good bakery in Columbus? I know of a great one in Springfield and one near West Chester, but none here. I need a response ASAP though as I need to order a cake for Monday. Much to my dismay Kroger only has 3 size options and 3 flavor options. I don't care too much about the cake for the guests (Kroger cakes do taste good) but I want Alex's personal cake to be either round and about 6 - 8 inches in diameter or something comparable in a square cake. I also want to try and get a carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting or a whip cream frosting...something that isn't 100% sugar and empty calories. Edit: I think I'm going with the French Loaf in Grandview, but I'd still like any suggestions. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 12th, 2006
3:15 pm	I'm done. I graduated with my Masters on Sunday. I've been thinking about making this post for months now. How excited I would be and how much I couldn't wait to send out a big "screw you" to all the people who doubted me and my ability to be a good wife, mother, student, and full time employee. However, I realize it just isn't worth it. A big thanks is owed to all the people who did believe in me, who stayed around while I became a mom and tried to manage all the jobs at once without losing my mind. I don't feel at all mad or upset anymore, just like I have a much better perspective on people in general. I also know exactly what I don't want to be like, and I try hard everyday to not be a hypocrite or judgmental. Graduation was boring yet somewhat rewarding. It's always exciting when the president reads that little speech about confirming the degrees and singing the alma mater is also a good time when you're doing it with 3000 people. I also got to catch a glimpse of Sebastian Knowles. He was there to give a Ph D sash to one of his students and at that moment I decided to get my Ph D someday. I don't know if I would be able to go on living if I were that student. What better reward is there than to have worked with Seb for years and have him put the Ph D sash over your head? Seriously that would tie for first place in the best day of my life list. As a side note, thank you Erin and Sandy for texting with me throughout the ceremony, I might have picked my own eyes out had it not been for you two. I also got a call from an old friend on graduation who played me a very appropriate song called "Damn it feels good to be a gansta" which is really how I feel right now. My life is situated, going well, and I got my freaking degree. It is unfortunate that most of the people who get this song reference don't read LJ, but the sentiment is still there. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 26th, 2006
10:12 am	religious post Recently I've been listening to Joyce Meyer CDs during my long commute to and from work and to and from Lima. I'm not sure what kind of Christian she considers herself but usually I enjoy listening to her messages. It seems to me however that a lot of her justification for being a good person is because the bible says so and that confuses me. Why is that a good enough reason for being a good person? I try to be a good person but I do it because it makes me feel good and other people need charity sometimes and more recently because I want to be a good example for my son. I know a few people who have a pretty strong faith and they seem to be generally more happy with their lives. I think that this would be a good way to be, but I'm unsure of how to go about acquiring faith. Does it have to just come to you or something? I guess I believe in God, but it's more because the general idea has been engrained in me since childhood but without any kind of back up documentation. We never went to church, but we celebrated Christmas and I said prayers at night until I was about 10. Having a child has really made me think about these things. Sandy's sister has inspired me to think about them as well. She seems to be a very well adjusted 16 year old girl (which I didn't think was possible)who is very involved in church and private Christian school and seems to generally like both of these things. Not to mention we attended her 16th birthday party and there were like 40 kids there. I don't want Alex to miss out on a rewarding part of his life or a chance to make good stable friendships because his parents can't get their spiritual acts together. Sometimes I wonder if I had gone to church if I wouldn't have been more involved (not that I wasn't in a million clubs anyway), but maybe it would have kept me out of more trouble in my later high school years. On the other hand I don't want to feel like he's guilted or forced to go to church. Also, how do you know what type of church to go to if you don't know much about it in the first place? My family was/is Catholic but you have to go through quite a few sacraments to become a member of the Catholic church. I'm not sure if it's the same for regular Christian church. I also don't think that's a good reason to go to church. I've been to quite a few Catholic masses, but just because that's what I'm used to does not seem like a good reason to pick a Catholic church. Plus I'm not sure what the rules are about exploring new churches. Sunday is one of my Alex days and if I go to church he's coming with me. However I don't just want to show up to a new church with my 9 month old and expect to be able to really figure out if I like it or not. Sorry about the rambling nature of this post, I guess my general questions are 1. How do you get faith? 2. How do you pick which type you want? and 3. How important is it to raising a well adjusted happy child? Please comment, I'm really interested in what people have to say about all this stuff. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 18th, 2006
12:14 am	I passed!!! :-D (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, September 10th, 2006
9:15 pm	I marched in a parade today. The Salvation Army built a new building and it opened today. So to commemorate we shut down 6 blocks of East Main St (the ghetto) and got a high school band to lead us in a march... in the middle of the street...waving to all the poor people...behind the cops...with a full band. It was simultaneously the lamest and one of the most hilarious events to ever happen in my life. (Comment on this)
Monday, August 28th, 2006
10:16 am	Last couple months...abbreviated. Alex is a master crawler, is pulling up, walking along furniture, saying "dadada" and other sylables, eating food and now completely off the boob. I celebrated this weekend by drinking for the first time since May 7, 2005 and got drunk off of two fruity drinks. Work is good, Sandy is employed and we've been enjoying the rewards of having two major paychecks coming in to the house. School starts in three weeks and I'll be driving to Lima once a week. Oh and I got my car detailed this weekend which is like the best thing I've ever done. It's soooo freakin clean and it makes me very happy to be in it which I know sounds crazy, but ehh. (Comment on this)
Friday, July 7th, 2006
12:35 pm	AHA!!! For all you non-believers.... Here is proof that I am not crazy, that Seb is in fact the best damn professor ever and I'm not ridiculous for having a picture of us framed in my living room. I swear that none of these reviews are from me. This is on the professor score thing on myspace. several 07/05/2006 A+ I was privileged to have Dr. Knowles for several classes between 1989 and 1993. Quite simply- he changed my life. To this day, he is my primary inspiration. Truly unique and gifted- he is able to reach students with ease. By the way, I never received an A from him. I struggled for B's. Pure excellence in the classroom and as an advisor. [Flag as Abuse] English 547 and 06/27/2006 A+ If you want a true wacky weird amazing professor he is a bit of an acquired taste but hands down the most amazing professor I have ever met! He makes everyone think outside any boxes we ever imagined and you leave his classes with a new perspective on life added to your exisiting ones!! If you dont take him at least once , you graduate from OSU without really fulfilling your stay!! [Flag as Abuse] Bath Study Abro 04/29/2006 A+ Seb was the faculty advisor to my summer study abroad program in Bath, the Summer Literature program through the English dept. He is hilarious and a great teacher. He's also really invested in his students. He's really fun to travel with, if only because he wears the coolest hats. I recommend Seb's classes, as he is the kind of professor you can keep in contact with long after you've left his class. [Flag as Abuse] Comp Studies 02/23/2006 A+ THE CREME DE LA CREME! [Flag as Abuse] Poetry 02/14/2006 A+ I fucking love this guy. Never before did a teacher get me so into a subject that I had no idea or interest in. He is a great man...funny as anything. Take a class from him if you can. His is one of the only ones i remember vividly from my OSU days. That says a lot considering how much i drank! [Flag as Abuse] Eng 578.01, Eng 12/16/2005 A+ Seb is the END ALL BE ALL! you want him for any class [Flag as Abuse] Listing 1-6 of 6 1 of 1 (Comment on this)
9:13 am	My baby has a tooth!! He doesn't quite have it yet, you can see the white sticking out of his gums and boy can you feel the sharp little thing. I didn't know baby teeth were so comparable to razors. Anyway, he's also got the moving thing down. He doesn't crawl yet, but he moves like an inch worm and then when he gets where he's going he stops and pulls himself up. He's freakin adorable. I'm trying to wean him and get him back in his own bed. Neither one of these things sounds like a good idea to him though. We've kind of laid off trying until he gets his two bottom teeth in though because he seems to be a little crankier than normal which is probably from the teeth. Everything else is fine. Job is going well, school is school and I think I'm finally ready (after 19 years) to be done for a while. This qtr is fairly easy, next qtr will hopefully be busy since I'll be going to Lima if all works out (keep my fingers crossed) and that class isn't offerd on the same time/day as the only other one I need to take. That was the nice thing about English, you NEVER had a problem with only one course fulfilling a requirement. Sandy and I are planning a vacation for when I (hopefully) graduate. Even if I have to stick around one more quarter for one stupid class we're still taking a vacation in December. We're going to Vegas and then maybe California for 4-5 days. They have pretty cheap packages out there for planes/hotels but I'm having problems deciding which Vegas hotel to stay in. We want on the strip of course and something with a great pool (Flamingo or MGM), but the ones with elaborate pools are older and not as luxurious as some of the others. He doesn't really care as long as there is gambling, but I want to feel completely relaxed while we're there. Anyway, if anyone has any tips on this feel free to share. We are also not taking the baby and I'm not sure how that will go for me. A break is nice, but 8 hours and I'm like a crack addict trying to score I'm in such a hurry to get back to Alex, so I don't know how 4-5 days is going to go. We'll have to do a test run and leave him overnight before we leave. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 14th, 2006
10:07 am	I guess it's that time again. I haven't updated in a while. Alex is perfect, he's eating baby food now. He does not like sweet potatos, but he's a big fan of carrots, squash, and peas. That's all we've tried so far, I don't want to rush him on the real food thing and upset his stomach. I have been breastfeeding this whole time and I've now been forced to cut it down to only nights. My pump finally decided to stop working on Monday. I think I've simply just burnt the motor out, which is ok, since he's eating so much real food now (cereal once a day, and a veggie a day). I'll still do it in the evening and at night though. On a much more serious note, someone stole my bank card number. Not the card, just the number. I know this because JC Penny sent me a post card about my "catalog order" and when I called them they told me someone had tried to use my card number to buy several DVD players. They also tried to used it at a bunch of online sites, AOL, "mysite", and some sort of online profiler site. Apparently they didn't get a very good look at the card or they just didn't know my home address, expiration date, etc because all the charges kept bouncing back. There's still two charges for 23.88 that are pending that will either drop off or I'll have to dispute them. I'm not freaking out about this like you'd think I would, I just feel violated and I would really like to yell at whoever did it. On the other hand I'm sure if they have to sink to that level then their life must suck pretty badly in the first place. And that is the social worker talking. I'm also very curious as to how this happened since I've had the card in my possession this whole time. That will teach me not to pay all my bills online or over the phone. The new job is going well. It's been super busy recently and has just started slowing a bit. We're implementing a new MIS system that's going to take up a ridiculous amount of my time soon. They also agreed to pay for the last two quarters at OSU for me which is nice. Oh and we're moving into a two bedroom on Erin's birthday. It will be a big move for us...across the hall and down one door. Alex will have his own room, but probably continue to sleep with us as he has become a much better cuddlier than Sandy. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 15th, 2006
10:37 am	I think this is going to be a long entry. I actually have a lot to talk about. First of all I had a great weekend. Friday was my first day of real field training in the new job. I was out with Maria who kept introducing me as her new supervisor to clients. She didn't mean it in any kind of nasty way or anything, just as matter of fact. It was exciting and weird at the same time. I have all of 4 employees under me whose very lives I have in the palm of my hand! HAHAHAHA! (evil laugh). No really, it's not like that, but I am in charge of hiring, firing, and evaluating those positions as well as a fifth position that we'll be hiring in the next 6 months or so. On top of that I got to use my extensive training in the Spanish language. We have a computer that was locked because the girl who used to use it quit. Fortunately she left her password hint up as "spanish for world". I thought that was a pretty common Spanish word but I guess not since the other couple of people didn't know it. That was also nice to have the ridiculous amount of time I spent in Spanish class pay off. Saturday I spent mostly with my family. My dad and cousin both got me a Mother's Day gift which was nice since I wasn't expecting anything at all (being that my son is only 4 months old). My dad even got me a card from Alex which was cute. Then Sunday was fabulous as well. Sandy and I went to CPK and both got our OWN souffle cake. We ended up hanging out all day together with the baby. On top of that he got me an hour massage at a day spa. Ohhhh I can't wait, I'm calling and making the appointment today. It was so cute the way he gave it to me, he offered to rub my back as my present and after a few minutes said "wouldn't it be nice to have someone do this for a lot longer?" It was very thoughtful. Our baby learned a new trick this weekend and I can't figure out where he got it. He's started pursing his lips and sucking on his lower lip. It's so weird, but so cute at the same time. It's neat to watch all the things he learns one at a time. Everyone takes moving their lips for granted, but he had yet to learn how to control those muscles. Sandy says that he probably learned it from him and I don't know if he did or not because I never noticed anyone doing it until Alex started. I love being a mom! I've been around babies before, but there are so many things you don't notice unless you see them every day for most of the day. On a less positive note his sleeping is all off. I'm pretty sure this is my fault. He sleeps well from 8-12 now but then wakes up hungry. When this happens I just take him to bed with me. So now he's waking up earlier and earlier and sleeping well as soon as he gets in bed with me. I realize that I'll probably regret this when he's two and squirmy and won't sleep in his own bed but for now I could care less. He'll be a teenager before I know it an he won't even want me to hug or touch him so I'm going to enjoy it while he's little. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 6th, 2006
7:32 pm	Anniversary It has been one year today since I drank any alcohol. I think that's rather remarkable. (Comment on this)